An Endless Fate
by Passion-For-Danger
Summary: Ava and Alexis are half-sisters who have been hunted by Magneto for their powers. They hold the power of life and death in their hands. Cynical, tough Ava ends life and sweet, innocent Alexis gives it. Each sister is as different from the other as night from day, but they stick together. Always. And they end up at Charles' school. This is their story. Warren/OC Logan/OC.
1. Ava

**Hey all, it's It's-A-Passion and DancerOfDanger here, collaborating with this story 'An Endless Fate'. Anyway, we'll be writing alternate chapters from our own characters points of view. Ava is my (It's-A-Passion) character so this first chapter is mine, and Alexis is DancerOfDanger 's character so her chapter's coming up! We hope you like them! Oh, and it's and Warren/OC and Logan/OC story.**

Most people spend their whole lives without really truly knowing what it is to love another human being so totally and completely, with nothing familial about it. Just passionate and all-consuming that sets skin a-blaze and hearts a-flutter. To love everything about that person, the good and bad, perfections and flaws, to love it all. It's a wonder that that kind of love can leave a person with enough room in their heart for anything or anyone else.

Romantic novels talk about it all the time; the eternal love, helpless pining, unrestrained passion that suddenly explodes on the pages when a boy meets a girl, and unexpectedly the stars align and they know. They know that's the person they'll love like nothing and no one else, that's the person who they have to be with. And with it comes the sudden profound realization that something had been missing from their lives, but they never realized until then. Fate, it seemed, wanted them to be together and the universe agreed.

But I didn't believe in that crap.

The only things I believed in were certainties; life and death. You were born, you lived and then you died, and that's it. Everything in between; wealth, prestige, love, were just ideologies thought up by someone hundreds of thousands of years ago that the contemporary world had yet to figure out is fake and meaningless. Anything else was just a load of crock, cooked up by the marketing industry to manipulate us into thinking we needed love, that it was one big thing of life that happened to everyone. Then of course, it had to be just a coincidence that they profited from turning everyone into loved up fools.

My sister, well, half-sister, Alexis, called me cynical. I liked to think of it as being realistic.

"Ava…" Alexis said softly from beside me. I glanced at her to see her biting her lip in worry, a pucker between her elegant eyebrows.

"It'll be okay," I said automatically, attempting to reassure her. Sometimes it felt like I knew her better than I knew myself. I knew what she was worried about; people not liking her. It was a ridiculous assumption because nobody could meet my little sister without falling in love with her in some way.

A gentle breeze rushed up past us as we trudged up the annoyingly steep hill to where the mansion sat. The air smelt clean and fresh as it ruffled our hair. "How can you be so sure?" she sighed, tucking a large section of her silvery-fair hair behind her ear, though it quickly fell away. Her hair seemed to buzz with life as it swayed about in thin, impossibly straight strands.

My sister was unearthly beautiful; she reminded me of a flower and I had no difficulty believing that maybe she was made out of them. Her pale silver hair was like corn silk; fine and shimmering. Her features were delicate and she moved with a willowy grace of movement that made her pretty to watch, like she was floating on air. Most of the time, I just worried she'd be blown away in the wind.

In complete contrast to her, I was earthier, voluptuous, curved. My hair was thick and glossy, as dark as a night with no moon, bouncing down my back in long, voluminous, wild curls. It didn't behave and I didn't try to tame it.

I grinned at her encouragingly, though I hardly felt in the mood to, "Alexis," I began, "I'm your older sister, which means I'm always right." I got a tiny smile from her in reply, not a full one, so I changed tactics. "Have I ever given you reason to not trust me?"

"No," she admitted reluctantly.

"So trust me now," I told her, cutting the conversation short. Her worrying was pointless. Alexis cared about people in a way that was more than sympathy and more than compassion, it was like perfect love. She didn't have to worry about making friends because her heart was open, no walls or barriers or shields to separate her from others. It was hard for people to hate such sincerity.

And if it was up to me, I'd do anything to keep her that way. She trusted me explicitly, and as the older sister, it was my duty to keep her safe, especially when she couldn't do it herself; I took care of everything not because I felt obligated by familiar ties, but because I was fiercely protective of her. It was in her nature to trust people, and it was in my nature to be suspicious. I was as different to her as night from day.

Irritated, I pushed masses of thick, midnight black, unruly curls back behind me in defiance of the increasing wind, my steely grey eyes, like captured smoke, sweeping over the grounds. I don't know what I expected to find; maybe some sign that this place wasn't safe after all, that we'd travelled so far for no reason, that this place was a threat, dangerous. Lately, it felt like I was always on guard, almost like I was expecting something to happen.

I guess that's what happened when you were being hunted by Magneto.

I reached up, rubbing the Yin and Yang pendent around my throat between my fingers, which described us so perfectly. Apparently Chinese philosophy had us pegged; seemingly contrary forces that are interconnected and interdependent on each other in the natural world.

See, I literally had the power of death. I was the freaking grim reaper, Thantos, harbinger of doom, daughter of darkness, whatever; anyone I touched would be at my mercy – I can take away life, take away that vitality that flowed through peoples veins, I could make people sick, a debilitating sick, I could make them suffer a slow, painful death. The end result was the same; death. My sister was the benign counterpart to my dark gift; she had the power to give life, to resurrect, to heal and cure and make stronger. She was life and I was death, and we had to stick together.

We neared the mansion that was also known as Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. My shoulders were tensed as I took it in. I was so tired, so exhausted from running and hiding, that I just wanted to stop and rest; I wanted this place to be safe, but I couldn't let my personal bias stop me from thinking about this objectionably. If Alexis wouldn't be safe here, we wouldn't be staying. But God knew I was sick of running.

The grounds were large and relatively well kept; plenty of trees, which may not be a good thing considering they're a hiding place I couldn't see into. The mansion itself was massive, which must have been there for years considering the amount of ivy crawling along the weathered bricks.

Cautiously, I reached out and pounded on the wooden door, ignoring the knocker positioned right in front of me.

A girl who couldn't be older than Alexis opened the door, a smile on her face, "Hi, I'm Kitty, well, Katherine, but I prefer Kitty. What can I do for you?"

"I'm Ava, that's my sister Alexis," I gestured to my side. "I want to speak to whoever's in charge." I didn't elaborate or explain, I just waited patiently.

Behind her, a deep, gruff and kind of unwelcoming voice spoke up, "That would be me. Logan," he reluctantly offered his name. The voice belonged to a man, much bigger than me, who was muscled and kind of foreboding. Beside me, Alexis' eyes got wider and she took a tiny step back, but her features softened and her lips parted slightly. I frowned, squaring my body.

"Great," I grinned dangerously, to show him he didn't frighten me and if it came down to it, he shouldn't underestimate me.

"What do you want?" he growled at me and I looked at him, annoyed. Who put him in charge? Words like uncouth and brutality ran through my mind.

I stepped inside, which wasn't entirely my best idea, but I did have to speak with him anyway. People were gathering now, and if I was a dog, my hackles would be rising right about now. There were a lot of people, mainly kids, but nonetheless we were outnumbered; it was us against them at the moment, and I didn't like our odds, though no one had presented themselves as a threat just yet. I was exhausted and tense and so painfully alert for anything and everything, that it was hard to do everything all at once.

"My sister and I," Alexis spoke up behind me, surprising me slightly. She looked Logan dead in the eye, pinning her with her own black eyes, as black as my hair. I always found it ironic we had each other's hair and eye colouring's, though they were swapped, even though we had different mothers. Well, they did same the mutant gene was passed from the father, so it must be a part of our mutations, "We heard this was a safe place for mutants. A safe place from the world. Is that true?"

"It is," a voice said, directly behind me and he startled me, throwing me into a panic. No one should be behind me; I didn't see anyone move that way, and no one should be blocking the door, the only escape route I knew. This may be a safe place for mutants, but that didn't mean it was a safe place from other mutants as well; anyone of these kids and teachers could be working with Magneto. Some would call that being paranoid. I called it being cautious.

I spun around to assess this new voice, but he was closer than I expected and my hand brushed his bare arm. And then I felt that pull somewhere in my gut as an invisible rope tethered between us, latching on to his life force, the ball of pure energy in his chest, and started to drain it.

"Fuck," I panicked, trying desperately to stop it. Even though I wasn't touching him anymore, it didn't matter; it was enough, and in my emotional state, my 'gift' was a lot harder to get a handle on.

"Ava!" Alexis' voice was high, verging on hysteria.

He swallowed, his face paling of any colour, going as white as a sheet. His knees got weaker and he crumpled to the ground, his eyes blank and covered in a milky film, his limbs unmoving. Everywhere was chaos, kids were screaming and backing up, one or two dropped down beside the dead man, and the one who claimed to be in charge released a set of dangerously sharp looking claws from his hands, as he lunged at me, and I dived to the side, dodging him narrowly.

"Don't touch me!" I shouted at Logan. It's not what I wanted, I didn't mean to do it. He ignored me anyway, lunging again, a snarling blur of rage, and just as he was about to hit me, another man collided with him, sending them flying off in the other direction. This other man was muscled too, and I had no doubt he was strong and physically fit, but against Logan, who was huge, I didn't know how well he'd fare.

"Don't be stupid," he shouted at Logan who was growling, his claws glinting dangerously. "You'll end up dead too, no matter how tough you think you are!"

I glanced over at Alexis, who was staring at the dead man, ignorant to what was happening right beside her, so focused on his form. I knew she felt that pull inside her to go to him, to help, to heal. It was a compulsion for her, to just help like that. I was sure the only reason she didn't automatically go to him was because of me, and what I'd drummed into her over the years.

I couldn't take her anywhere that sick or hurt or injured or dead people might be, because she'd want to help. I couldn't let her, for two reasons; it took a lot out of her – with my power, I took their life, with her power she had to give a little of her life to heal them, and it took a lot out of her, so I wouldn't let her weaken herself. And secondly, because there was a balance in the universe that we couldn't disrupt; it wasn't our job to go around either ending life or giving it. But right now, it was different.

"Do it," I shouted at her, as the man in charge threw the blonde man off him and charged at me again. That was all the push she needed. I hoped to God I'd pulled my power back in, got it under control enough, as I ducked his vicious swing, eyeing his claws, and sunk a punch right onto his jaw, followed closely by a knee into his solar plexus. He grunted, doubling slightly, but he was back up in a matter of seconds. Jesus, who was this guy? My hand and knee throbbed. What the hell was he taking to be so beefed up?

His hand snuck out, aiming for my gut and I jumped back, falling to the ground and just before he could land on me, I scrambled back up, backing away. My eyes flittered around for Alexis, to see if she was alright. Her hands were placed gently against the sides of the dead man's face, her eyes closed as she concentrated. Her hair seemed to vibrate, and then dim slightly, as she crumpled forward over the dead man's form. Except, he wasn't dead anymore. He was blinking rapidly, looking no worse for wear. He looked remarkably fine for a guy who'd just been dead.

"Alexis!" I shouted, going to her.

A large hand wrapped around my small wrist, pulling me back, and his other hand came up, pointing his claws right under my throat, pressing in slightly and drawing a little blood. I could feel the warm liquid slowly drip down my throat. His blue eyes were a storm of anger.

"Logan, don't!" the man from before shouted, blonde hair catching a stray ray of light, making it shine.

I yanked forward on the arm that was griping mine, leaning my neck out of the way of his claws and bringing my leg up, sending a hard roundhouse kick into the side of his head. I pushed back on his face with my foot, tilting his head back and managing to slide my arm free, the claws dragging along my flesh just under my elbow. I winced and quickly got myself out of his range.

The blonde man sent a punch to the side of Logan's head. He was sporting a rapidly bruising chin himself, but he took Logan on despite it. Logan looked at him angrily and I heard the blonde man say, "Look!" from behind me as I reached Alexis, lifting her up, checking her pulse, and making sure she was breathing. Blood from my arm smeared on her shirt. The man who had been dead was looking around, very confused.

"What's going on?" he asked, putting a hand to his head.

"Scott?" Logan asked, unsure, frowning.

"Yeah, he's alive, jackass," I snapped at him. "If you'd waited just a minute, I could have explained that my sister could heal him."

Logan helped Scott up, frowning down at us.

"Is there a hospital wing, or medical lab around here somewhere? Where do the kids go when they're sick?" I asked tiredly.

Logan reached down and scooped her up, encompassing her small frame with his large arms easily, despite my protests and guttural warnings. I followed him, watching him closely, so closely that I was in danger of walking into things. When we got to the medical lab, he put her down on one of those uncomfortable bed things, and I double checked she was alright, before holding her hand.

The blonde man stood at the doorway, his clothes rumpled, hair disheveled, and a nice looking bruise blooming on his chin. I nodded at him, "Thanks." He nodded back before disappearing. Logan left not long after.

I perched on the edge of her bed, waiting. She shifted slightly, a small groan escaping her lips as she blinked at me.

"Ava…?"

I smiled, "You did good. He's fine." Lucky he hadn't been dead long otherwise she could have seriously injured herself. If that was a possibility, I wouldn't have encouraged her to do it.

She let out a low, long sigh, before spotting the cuts on my throat. She reached up with her other hand, the one not twisted with my fingers, but I grabbed it, bringing it back to rest on the bed. "Don't worry about that. It'll heal on its own. You get some rest," I told her gently, and she slowly closed her eyes, drifting into sleep.

She trusted me to look out for her, to watch over her. And I always would.

* * *

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	2. Alexis

I woke up the next morning, and I was starving. Since I used a lot of my life-force yesterday, I was entitled to be hungry. I thought back to yesterday afternoon, when Ava and I arrived at the mansion. We walked in, and we were surrounded; she would have hated that. I closed my eyes for a second, replaying it over in my mind. Ava and I getting surrounded, Ava spinning around to find the man behind her, accidentally brushing up against him, using my powers on him, and… _Him_. As soon as I laid eyes on him, my heart skipped a beat, noise faded, and there was nothing else in the world. The only thing that was wrong with that; he scared me. He had muscle everywhere, so I doubt I could even go near him without him snapping like a twig.

I wondered out the door of the medical wing, and looked up and down the corridor. A man with blue fur and a gorilla type appearance appeared at the end of the corridor, and since my mouth was parched and my throat was dry, I couldn't exactly scream, but…I didn't know if he was friendly or not. So, being myself, and not wanting to bother anyone else I could find, I staggered down the corridor, the blanket of sleep still lingering in the air, following the man, until he came to an elevator. I watched patiently as he stepped in, and then waited patiently for it to come back down. As soon as it came down, I stepped in, and pressed the up button that would take me to the ground level. I waited for a few seconds, and then stepped out once the doors opened at the top. I was more awake now, and followed my nose to the kitchen, my oh my, did that smell good. I walked in to find someone I didn't know cooking pancakes with maple syrup and vanilla ice-cream. My favourite.

I was then tackled into a hug, and if you ever knew my sister, you would know that when someone you don't know "attacks" you, you have every right to become someone entirely different. I elbowed the person in the face, hearing a satisfying crunch, and spun around, taking a fight position, one I knew from watching my sister do it a million times as she tried to teach me at least some basic defensive maneuvers. The position felt awkward to me. My arms immediately dropped when I saw my sister on the ground, with her hand to her nose, and looking up at me through her charcoal black lashes.

"Ava!" I cried, kneeling down to her instantly, the stares of impressed and scared looks going unnoticed. "Are you ok?" I asked her, my hands instantly reaching out, pulling me toward her, to heal her.

"I'm fine Alexis. Nice moves though. Finally, I know you learnt something." She jokes, heaving herself off the ground, bringing me with her. She never let me heal her. I saw the red marks on her throat that were there yesterday, my hand was itching to reach out. Ava must have noticed what I wanted to do, for she grabbed my hands, to stop me from raising them.

"I panicked when I went back to the medical wing and you weren't there," she admitted reluctantly, her lips pressing into a firm line that said 'I didn't appreciate it'.

"So, you're Alexis, huh?" I spun around, my annoyingly straight hair flipping over my shoulder. Once again, my heart was skipping beats, my stomach was a-flutter, and the noise just gave out. There was no one but him. But I was still pretty scared of this guy; he was intimidating and that's only when you take his size into account. I stepped back, my eyes on the ground, my hands held in front of me. To me, he felt superior. When we stood near each other, it was like a T-Rex next to a toothpick.

"I'm not gonna hurt you kid." I heard him whisper, as he took a small, shallow step toward me. I took four, hurried ones back. The thing was, I wanted to be around him, but I was nervous about it.

"Lexi." I whispered, correcting him, it was so quiet I thought it had been carried off with the Southern Winds.

"Lexi?" he asked. I looked up at him.

"I prefer Lexi to Alexis." I answered, my voice a little louder, and more confident.

He took another step towards me. This time, it was hesitant and small, as if telling me, through body language that he was ok, and that he wasn't going to hurt me. But how did I know that? How did I know that I could trust him? The last guy I trusted handed me over to Magneto. But I stayed where I was. I didn't move my gaze from his feet, and it didn't waver. It was easier to be stronger when Ava was around because she simply wouldn't let anything happen.

"Lex?" he asked, my head snapped up. Nobody had called me that before. He was holding his hands out in front of him, as he took another step, bigger this time, toward me. Again, I didn't move. He smirked slightly, his blue eyes, showing his emotions. There was an emotion in there that quickly fled, but I didn't know what it was. I could hear someone mutter to my side.

"Logan's getting some progress done quickly." I saw a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes out of the corner of my eye, snapping my head around to face him, to throw a question at him, but I regretted it instantly, as I hissed out in pain, as I pulled a muscle. The next thing I knew, Logan was beside me, towering nearly a head and a half over me. I felt strange. Logan's hands slowly started to rise toward my neck. I winced a little, as his hands got higher.

"I'm not gonna hurt you Lex, I'm just gonna relieve the muscle." His fingers went to the part of my neck, where my fingers were sitting, and started pressing and rubbing circles on the area. It felt good. I arched my neck, to allow easier access.

Ava cleared her throat behind me, her arms folded across her chest as she glared at Logan. I realised what I was doing, and jumped back into the archway of the kitchen, my head down, my hand up at my mouth, desperately trying to cover my blush.

"Excuse me." I whispered. I turned around and bolted out the front door. As soon as I was far enough away, I took a deep breathe of the fresh air. Salt. I looked in the direction of where I smelt it, and walked toward it. After walking for about ten minutes, I came across a cliff with a bench just back from the edge. I sat down on the wooden planks, making sure I wouldn't get splinters, and watched the seagulls and the pelicans swoop down to feast on the fish.

I wish I was like that. Free. Free from everything. Free from my past, my present and my future. But then again, you were born with life, you had to live it to its best, no matter what it throws at you.

"Ooooo! I am the ghost of freedom past, present and future! Oooooo!" I laughed. Trust my sister, to know exactly what I'm thinking.

"Alexis, don't blame yourself. You know we can't be like this. I've always protected you, and I'm going to keep protecting you." She whispered, leaping over the back of the bench easily, and landing next to me softly.

"That's the point Ava! I'm 17 and I'm running from everything my suspicious sister sees as a threat! Ava, I honestly think this place is safe. This is the safest I've felt in a long time." I started off yelling at her, but my voice started to disappear as I neared my end.

"You've said that about a lot of people and a lot of places," Ava pointed out. "You're too quick to trust!"

"As opposed to never trusting?" I replied, automatically feeling guilty about it. She was that way because she was forced into it; to survive, she had to be that way.

"Just because you feel safe here, doesn't mean that you are," Ava continued, ploughing on like she didn't even hear me.

"This is different, Ava!"

"What's so different about this place, then, huh? Tell me, explain it to me? Is it the place, or the people?" she asked. I thought of Logan for a second, and stuck my head down to make it harder for Ava to see my blush which would undeniably support whatever it was she was thinking.

"Logan." She whispered. The kind of whisper that meant he had better hide.

"Ava, he's been nothing but nice to us. Look at how hard he's trying to get me to open up to more people. He's easing into it. He wasn't like Eric…" I trailed off when I saw my sister's face. It had closed off, as she hid behind that stupid wall she built. Sometimes, I wondered if she even knew she was doing it.

"I want you to stay away from Logan. He's bad news. If I see you even in a two foot radius of him, he's dead, got it?" she asked. My eyes went wide, as I heard her tone of voice. Everything my sister had done was always to keep me safe, and I trusted her to do that, but I think she was wrong about this and about Logan. So I let out a reluctant sigh, "Fine," I agreed with her, if only for the time being. She'd be watching me like a hawk, I knew.

I stood up and walked back up to the mansion, somehow knowing that Ava was following, wrapping my arms around myself, as some sort of security blanket I guess. I made it back up to the mansion, Logan standing at the door.

"You ok, Lex?" he asked, actual concern, lacing his voice.

"Just fine, Chief." I whispered, about to walk past him, and into the living room, when I heard it.

"I need to talk to you and Ava, Lex. Follow me." He said. I followed him into what seemed to be an entertainment room of some sort, to see two people I didn't know.

"I would like to introduce you to Ororo, or Storm, and Warren or Angel." I smiled brightly at them, as I was raised to be polite, then looked over to my sister, who was staring at Warren with her smoky eyes, with something akin to recognition and... gratitude. But as quick as it had come, it was gone and she was back to the same old Ava.

Logan gestured for us to sit on the couch. We followed his orders and sat down.

"When you first got here, you said that this was a safe place for mutants." Logan stated.

"Yes." Ava replied, her shoulders squared, kind of like, "don't try anything" posture.

"Why did you come here? Was it to be safe from someone, or do you need help controlling your powers?" he fired question after question, but we answered willingly.

"We came here because we're being hunted by a man named Magneto, and sometimes, in certain situations, it's harder to control my powers, making me more dangerous to anyone around me. When bringing someone back to life, Alexis uses her own life force. I want to see if we can expand it, so if she brings someone back, she doesn't wipe herself out completely." Ava answered.

"You're powers are going to be tested in the Danger Room, if they are up to scratch, you'll become X-Men, and we'll help you with your powers." The woman, Storm, replied this time, making me smile in thanks.

"You have contemporary rooms until we can get your luggage out here, and settled. Dismissed." Logan said afterwards. Kind of reminded me of the army.

I wondered through the mansion, until I came across a music room, with an old guitar. I picked it up and walked over to the window sill, that gave me an overview of the garden. I could see my sister leaning against a tree, reading a book. I put the guitar on my lap, and started softly strumming some chords I remember from when I was little. I started to run through the lyrics I remembered in my head as well.

_It doesn't matter how old you are_

_To me, you will always be_

_The girl I knew, who would never stray too far_

_Who would always be singing, "me, me, me"_

_I will always love you, for you_

_No matter how hard you tried to forget_

_No matter what you do_

_You'll always be my little girl, I was so happy to have met_

I closed my eyes, and forced the tears back, as I remember Ava singing it to me when I was younger, when I was scared out of my mind. I remember how she wrote it with dad. Before he left. Before my whole world seemed to crack and land at the altar.

I heard a knock at the door. I looked up to see, Warren standing at the door, his blonde hair falling into his face.

"Hey, Lexi! There's someone in the medical wing that would like to see you." He said, gesturing to the open door, only to realise that Ava was standing there also. I didn't notice that she had left the spot at her tree. I walked out, placing the guitar back where I found it, and let him close the door to the music room. I waited patiently for him to lead me down there. It took us about five minutes, and to be honest, I didn't want to explain it again, so let me tell you. There was a lot of metal. I walked into the medical wing, to see the man that Ava accidentally "killed" yesterday. The man I brought back to life.

"Alexis, right?" he asked, stretching out his hand. "Scott Summers." I grabbed his hand, and shook it, feeling a little bit of my life force leaving my body, as he was still not fully healed.

He then looked toward Ava. Before he could get anything out, she spoke first.

"Sorry, for killing you by the way." She said, shaking his hand as well, though he was a bit reluctant.

"It's ok." He shrugged, only to come back to me.

"It's Lexi, actually." I said, my voice strong and confident.

"Lexi. I wanted to thank you for saving my life yesterday, or giving it back, or whatever you did. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here right now." He said.

"It was nothing, really." I said, looking down, as a blush started to form on my face.

"It was everything. Have you thought up your code-name yet?" he asked me. My code-what? No. I looked up and shook my head.

"My sister's powers are death, and mine are life, she could be "Persephone", but I just don't know if "Life" is something great to screech. Plus, I don't even know how to fight." I explained.

My sister suits death perfectly. My nickname back when I was in school, was "Goddess" or "Flower", because of my hair. But I don't know what they would call me here. I never really liked those nicknames.

"We'll talk about it later. Are you any good at stealth missions?" Logan asked me, coming up behind me, catching my fist, therefore giving an example of my lousy combat skills, before I had a chance to actually hit him. He scared me, as my sister says, "You have the right to become someone you never are".

"Pretty bad, considering I didn't even know you were there, and I tripped over air, about a week ago. Ava is more equipped for that kind of stuff." I answered.

He grimaced. "I think you should stay here with Scott then. Are you any good at cooking?" he asked.

"Let me guess, you want me to cook so you can find out?" I asked, a small smile forming on my lips, as he smiled slightly and nodded his head.

I sighed, "Anything in particular?" I asked.

"Nope. Thanks Lex." He replied. I think it's going to be a bit of a habit, for him calling me Lex.

"No problem, Chief." I smiled sweetly, pushing everybody, but Scott toward the hangar bay, to where the Blackbird was. I really wanted to learn how to fly that thing.

"Don't burn down the mansion!" I hear him holler after me. I smirked and walked into the elevator, mentally trying to figure out a recipe that feeds 13 people.

* * *

Hey guys, it's DancerOfDanger here with Chapter Two! If you guys are looking for the song that was used, you won't find it anywhere, because I wrote it! I sing it for my niece and my cousins. It has been really fun writing this chapter, and I guess it's going to be getting much more fun, as the story progresses… :D Thanks for our reviewer OzeraBand, but unfortunately, you will have to wait to see who gets with who, unless my partner has told you who…. PASSION!?


	3. Ava 2

Persephone.

The name rang in my head and I let a grim smile adorn my face. Queen of the dead. How fitting.

But then a true smile replaced it as I realized she had actually listened; all those stories I told her about Greek mythology, about the wars in history, I never thought she ever paid attention to them. Guess I was wrong about that.

After Alexis had so kindly and enthusiastically offered for me to go on this stealth mission, I followed Logan to a smaller room adjoining the hangar where the massive plane was. It was an impressive piece of machinery. The room was lined with cabinets and Logan pulled one open.

The smile slipped off my face as Logan handed me a black, full length, one piece, uniform made of leather that looked like it would fit me snugly. Extremely snuggly. I looked at him. "You've got to be kidding me," I deadpanned.

"Put it on," he demanded.

"Or what?" I challenged, throwing it back at him. I was liking Alexis a whole lot less now. But still, I didn't know if it was a good idea to leave her just yet, so the uniform was just another reason not to go. This place seemed safe; I could feel it, and so far, everything seemed to be just fine. But still. I couldn't stop that instinctual part of me that said not to leave her alone in a house – scratch that, mansion – with a bunch of people I didn't know all that well, if at all. It just made me uneasy when I thought about it. Even if Alexis did look a lot happier since she woke not long ago. I knew she liked it here.

But I also knew she was too trusting for her own good.

"Or I'll put it on for you," he replied, smirking and my lip lifted in disgust. It wasn't a lecherous remark, but it was in reply to my challenge. Obviously, he didn't back down from a challenge. But neither did I. Guess we had that in common.

The door opened and I recognized the man who had helped me out this morning walk in, and on hearing Logan's reply and seeing the material in Logan's hand, he probably figured out the gist of our discussion. "Come on Logan, quit messing around with her."

The comment made me feel younger and it only served to piss me off, rather than feel defended like he obviously meant it to be.

"Hey," I said indignantly, my voice going hard with anger. "I don't need your help."

He lifted his brows in surprise, "Well, you sure needed it this morning," he said lightly, like he was trying to be gentle about reminding me.

My jaw clenched and I narrowed my eyes at him, "I was doing just fine."

"Oh really?" he said, the side of his mouth lifting up just slightly, almost like he was mocking me or he found me amusing. He walked forward, past Logan to a cabinet, dismissing me.

"Yes really," I snapped at him, frowning. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Warren," he replied simply before turning around and offering me his hand. His hand was large, like the rest of him, and up close I could see that he was taller than Logan, with a body that was just as broad. The thing that made them different was the fact that Logan's arms were huge, the muscle bulging constantly and making him look a whole lot bigger, but otherwise they were quite similar; large, well-muscled, tall.

"I know your name," I told him. He kept his hand outstretched and I stared at it, like he was holding a pile of stinking goopy muck and he wanted me to touch it, before looking back up at him. I crossed my arms over my chest.

He dropped his hand, a small smile playing around his lips. I couldn't figure out why he was smiling considering I'd just been rude. "Quite the spitfire, aren't you?"

I didn't bother to answer him, remaining stonily cold.

"Great," Logan cut in, his low voice carrying an undercurrent of annoyance and maybe a hint of amusement. "Now that you know each other, go put your uniform on."

"No," I said, staring at him like he was crazy. I thought we settled this already. I was far more comfortable in what I had on.

"Put the goddamn uniform on," he growled, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"Just a heads up," Warren said, heading toward a space in the room that went behind the cabinets, like a changing room in a clothes shop, "He really will put it on for you."

At that moment, Alexis pushed the door open, blushing prettily. "I uh…don't know how to get to the kitchen." She looked between the two of us; my glowering expression and clenched jaw, looking stubborn, and Logan's irritated expression, looking every bit as determined as I did stubborn. "What's going on?"

"He wants me to wear a uniform," I said. I left out the bit about it being body-hugging. "And I don't want to wear it."

A small smile lifted her lips and she giggled, "You're so stubborn. Just put it on and stop making so much fuss," she admonished and I gaped at her. I was the older sister. I did the reprimanding.

I snatched the material from Logan and stalked behind where Warren had disappeared. There were two other cubicles with curtains hanging in front to provide some privacy. I stomped into one and dragged the curtain closed, grumbling under my breath.

With difficulty, I pulled the material on, sighing. The material wasn't that thick or unbending, but it certainly wasn't stretchy. When I got to my hips, I had to heave to pull the material up higher, breaking out a sweat. It was tight over my hips and bum, before loosening up at my waist, and then becoming tight at my breasts. I twisted, feeling uncomfortable, before pulling the curtain back and stomping out.

Warren was giving Alexis directions to the kitchen. They turned when I walked out, wearing the stupid uniform and a scowl. Their eye brows lifted and my scowl deepened.

"Now I see why you didn't want to wear it," Alexis said, nodding. "It's very…"

"Flattering," Warren provided, his voice strangled.

"Shut up," I snapped, folding my arms and staring at the wall, waiting for Logan and not appreciating their comments at all. I glared at his large black trench coat over his own black uniform. From what I could see, it emphasized his muscled chest. Storm, Bobby and Kitty were also there, already changed. I have no idea how they did that so fast; it took me forever to get the uniform on

"Well, clearly it'll need to be tailored," Storm said, smiling. Her voice was low and confident, her skin a creamy mocha colour.

Logan emerged, looking me over briefly with a critical eye, like he was making sure that was actually the uniform he gave me. I could understand why they wore them, but it didn't mean I wanted to. "Let's go."

Alexis frowned, before walking over and throwing her arms around me, "Be safe."

I rolled my eyes, "It's just a stealth mission," I told her lightly.

"Still," she replied, hugging tighter. We exited the room and Alexis went the other way. I could feel her anxious worry.

We boarded the ship and suddenly my palms got all clammy. Okay, so I wasn't that great with flying. Which would be the understatement of the year. Logan started the Blackbird up and I nearly fell into one of the seats in my haste to be buckled up securely. There was very little I was afraid of; flying happened to be one of those things and it was extremely inconvenient.

I tried to calm down, breathing deeply.

"Afraid of flying?" Warren asked in the seat across from me. I threw him a glare that was a whole less lethal than I wanted it to be as the plane gave a shudder, my hands flying to grip the seat tightly.

"No," I replied, studiously not looking at him.

He laughed and this time I did look at him, retrying that glare, making it cold, "Do you _want_ me to kick your ass?"

"I don't know," he teased, smirking and looking like he was having fun. It bugged me. "Can you even get out of your chair to kick my ass?"

The plane gave another shake and I gripped the seat harder. He however, looked completely at ease and relaxed, like he was in his element. In a show of defiance I leaned back, closing my eyes and tilting my head back, like I was resting, so calm I could sleep.

"You know," his voice floated to me and I suppressed a groan. "There's no shame in being afraid of flying."

"I'm not afraid," I denied, looking over at him.

He went on, like he didn't hear me. Either that, or he did hear but didn't believe me. "I mean, we are thousands of feet above the ground, with nothing between us but air. And planes are known to crash all the time."

"Is this you trying to be helpful?"

"No, that was me being honest. Here's the helpful part; I won't let anything happen to you," he said, matter-of-factly.

When that was all he said, I couldn't help my sarcastic reply. "Well, now I feel so much better."

He just shrugged, smiling like he knew something I didn't and relaxing back into his chair and closing his eyes. That bugged me too.

I glared at him, and I think he knew it because his smile widened. I turned to Storm who was sitting with Logan up the front. "What are we even doing?"

"You, Logan and Warren are going to a warehouse. Looking for some information. What they're up to and what they're building. That kind of thing," she told me and I nodded. "Iceman, Shadowcat and myself are then flying to Senator Kelly's office in the city. There're some files we want to take a look at. We'll be back in an hour." It wasn't long before we were touching down and I was thankful for it, eager to get of the Blackbird. Grass hit my feet and I looked around, seeing we were in some sort of clearing. When I looked back, I saw the plane was invisible, though I could hear the whirr of the engine as it took off again.

We started forward, moving into a jog. Up ahead was a large warehouse building, various windows up high, with an empty carpark in front. There was one light post in the middle of the car park, giving enough light to illuminate the entrance doors.

We came to a halt right at the edge of the light, immersing ourselves in shadows so as not to been seen in case anyone was around. We waited a few minutes. I tried to slow my heartbeat, breathing deeply.

A guard passed, holding a torch and shinning it in front of him as he walked the perimeter of the building. He stopped in front of the entrance doors for two minutes before continuing around to the back. When he disappeared around the corner, I let out a sigh and mentally started counting how long until he was at the front entrance again.

When he reappeared, I said on a breath, as quietly as I could, "One minute, twenty six seconds."

"Okay. That's how long we have to get inside before he sees," Logan informed us.

"The door's probably going to be locked," I said. "Anyone got a key?"

Logan unsheathed his claws, "We don't need a key."

"I thought this was a stealth mission?"

"It is," he growled, his muscles tensing as he prepared himself.

"Well, I know security guards may not be the brightest, but he seems to be doing a pretty thorough job, so I'm going to say he'll probably notice a big gaping hole in the middle of the door. What about security cameras? Alarm systems? Personnel inside? What's the protocol for stuff like that?" I asked, frowning.

He grinned, like I passed some sort of test, "What do you suggest we do?"

"I…" I trailed off, feeling the pressure of being put on the spot when you don't have an answer.

"Well?" he smirked, prompting me.

"If I knew there was going to be a test, I would've studied," I snapped. Warren grinned. I looked up at the building walls, searching for cameras. There were two, high up above the entrance door, looking straight down on it, unmoving which made me think they didn't move at all and one on each corner, pointed outwards. A plan was slowly forming in my head. "The guard would have a key, so we need to take him out, then take out the cameras before moving in. once we do that, we won't have long if there's someone watching the surveillance cameras. He'll probably contact the guard, so someone will need to pretend to be him. Anybody inside should be dealt with quickly and quietly. Incapacitate, not kill, right?"

Logan thought about this for a second then nodded, "Not bad kid."

"I'm hardly a kid," I muttered, affronted.

He ignored me. "Warren, cameras?" he asked. He nodded. "We'll open that window," he pointed to one up high. "Make sure you uncover those cameras, yeah?"

"Got it," he nodded.

I frowned, "Wait on, how's he-,"

Logan cut me off. "We're going to go around the side over there when the guard is in front, and we take him out, away from the cameras, got it?"

"Got it," I replied. But I still didn't understand how Warren was going to take out the cameras when they were so high up. Then Warren shrugged off his trench coat and I understood.

On his back was a very large set of wings. _Freaking wings!_ A clean, pure white, so brilliant I understood why he had to cover them. Large, feathered and so soft looking, they looked like they'd have a span of at least five feet. Irrationally I wanted to reach out and touch them, to see if they were as soft as they looked. And then I understood how relaxed he was on the aircraft, and how he was so sure nothing would happen to me. Because he could freaking fly himself.

"Holy…" I breathed.

He grinned at me.

"Time to go," Logan said, as the guard appeared at the corner of the building, and we ran, skirting along the edge of where the light dimmed and wasn't strong enough to make us visible to the guard. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see Warren gather himself before shooting into the air with one powerful updraft, soaring high into the sky. I shook my head in amazement.

We pressed our backs against the side of the warehouse, moving along back to the front. There was a camera on the corner pointing outwards, so as long as we stayed really close to the wall, we should be able to sneak under it without being seen. I was in front, and at the corner, I peeked around it to see the guard unmoving, staring at something. For a moment, I panicked, thinking it was Warren.

But then I realized he was looking at the ground, and I followed his line of vision to see a skinny, black stray cat. Part of its left ear was missing.

"Shoo," the guard said, gesturing at the cat who stopped, sitting down and licking its paw. "Shoo," the guard repeated a little more forcefully, taking a couple steps towards it. It backed up, before sitting down and resuming its cleaning process. It looked like it needed a good clean.

The guard reached down, picking up a rock, "I said shoo you mangy – ,"

He was cut off as I kicked him in the side of the head. He went down, unconscious.

"What an asshole," I said. As I began to bend down to grab the key, there was a black blur as suddenly something shot at me, claws digging into my leather that I was suddenly grateful for.

Too quickly, I snapped back, losing my balance and falling back, my head slamming into the ground. I blinked and looked up, wondering what the hell had shot out at me.

The scrawny cat sat on my chest, looking down at me. It tilted its head to the side, like it was contemplating me. And then, quick as a flash, it leaned down and licked my face, its scratchy tongue dragging across my cheek. "What the…?" I pushed it off my chest, feeling how matted the fur was, the graining feeling of flea eggs festered and its bones prominent, sticking out it's skin. I wished I had some food.

It tried to get on my lap as I sat up and I held it back, looking up questioningly at Logan.

He growled, annoyed "Stop wasting time," he snapped.

I glared at the cat, "You got me in trouble," I snapped at it. "Go find some food somewhere," I shoved it in the other direction, getting up. I grabbed the key, and we looked up towards the cameras, waiting. Warren swooped down before hanging his coat over the lens of the two cameras.

Almost immediately, a walky-talky crackled to life, "Hudson, front cameras are out, what's your situation?"

Logan grabbed it, and trying to change his low voice said, "I'm out front. All's clear. Must be something blocking the video feed."

There a moment of silence while we waited for him to reply, hoping he didn't get the voice wrong. And then, "If it doesn't come back on, we'll have to call someone in to take a look at it. The boss won't be happy."

"Roger that," Logan said, bending to grab his heels, dragging him further away, to where the shadows were so no one would spot him if they walked out, before tying his arms and feet with rope I didn't know he had.

"And Hudson? You really should see someone about that cold. You sound terrible."

I pressed my lips together, suppressing a smile as Logan returned and we ventured inside, leaving the door unlocked. Inside, the warehouse looked larger than it did outside. There was a large clearing in the middle and at least fifteen mechanical pieces of machinery stood there, in various stages of completion. There were work benches placed around the room, large gadgets and gizmos that I had no idea what they did.

"Wow…" I breathed, before mentally slapping myself on the forehead and looking around for any guards. I didn't see anyone. Thank God. Lining the perimeter of the building was a second story, and we hurried to the stair, walking along until we got to the right window, pushing it open. Warren flew in, the current ruffling my hair as he landed softly and Logan closed it again. Then we looked down along the balcony at all the offices. "You've got to be kidding me."

Logan handed out headsets and torches (seriously, where was this stuff coming from?), "We'll split up, I'll take the left side offices," he said, his low voice perfect for saying things quietly, pointing across the building, "Warren, you take the middle and Ava, you've got this side. You're looking for any information to do with anti-mutant projects, including those machines down there."

We split up and I stopped at the first office I came to, pressing my ear to the door. When I heard nothing on the other side, I tried the handle and opened. It was dark and completely empty, so I went in, closing the door. Obviously turning on the light would be a bad idea, so I used the torch, looking around. It looked just like every other office. A desk, various photographs of family, or who I assumed was family. There was a filing cabinet in the corner, and I went over to it, pulling it open and flipping through. Abbot, Alcaz, Davis, Kenny, Hudson…

Last names; personnel files. Flipping through some, it was just information on them, their addresses, phones numbers, marital status, previous employment…etc. Information not pertinent to this mission, so I shoved it back in and continued to look around.

When I felt as though I'd sufficiently searched the office, I went back to the door, turning the torch off, and peeking out, making sure the cast was clear, before slipping out and closing the door behind me as quietly as I could. The next office was just as unhelpful.

The third, however, was locked. Frowning, I reached down to my boot, and pulled out the pick and tension wrench. Yeah, I knew how to pick a lock. And I was pretty darn good at it too, so in under a minute, there was a soft click and I went inside, closing the door after me. I flicked on the torch and knew I'd hit the motherload. There was even a computer and printer and a filing cabinet. Clearly, this guy was higher up, and knew a whole lot more than just info on his employees.

I checked the filing system out first. Blueprints, equations, re-calculations, emails… everything on one project was stored in a folder.

"Guys, I think I've hit the big-time here," I whispered into the head set.

"What you got?" Logan asked.

"A lot," I said. "Something called the 'Sentinel Project' and a whole lot of other kinds of projects."

"Grab it," Logan said.

One draw was locked, so I pulled out my lock-picking gear and got to work on it. It didn't stand a chance, and then I was pulling out folders marked 'Confidential', adding them to my pile. Theni sat down on the chair and booted up the computer, wincing at the whirr it made. Really, it wasn't that loud, but right now, it sounded like someone with a megaphone shouting 'THERE'S SOMEBODY HACKING INTO MY SYSTEM!'.

Password. Of course. I looked around, sighing. I was never going to get in. I searched some notepads, looking for something that could be it, but came up empty. I looked at the frame on the desk of a woman and little girl, laughing as they looked at the camera and had a thought. Sliding the picture out of the frame, I looked to the back, looking for names.

Jacqueline and Suzie age 4.

I typed in variations of their names until JacSuz4 logged me in. I grinned, feeling like a genius. "I'm online and searching through folders on a computer."

"Print anything you can," Logan said. I wasn't expecting praise from him anyway.

"You're lucky there's a printer in here," I replied.

I stared printing anything that looked relevant before accessing his emails. The printer made the same whirring sound I was beginning to associate with machines and I froze, listening for anything. Nothing.

There were emails from the senator, so I printed them too, waiting. It couldn't finish fast enough, and my nerves were shot as I waited, shutting down the second it was done, grabbing the documents and folders and walking back out.

I was so proud of myself that I didn't bother to listen at the door of the next office and walked right in on the guard watching the surveillance footage. He spun around and we stared at each other a second.

"Oh shit," I said as he jumped up, heading for me.

"This is security, we've got an intruder in –,"

He grabbed my arm and I dropped the files, landing a good uppercut to his jaw, causing him to stop midsentence. The next second, he was on the floor, just as unconscious as the other guard. I scrambled for the folders when I heard footsteps pounding along the corridor.

"Guys, I really hope you're done, because they know I'm here," I said quickly.

"What?" Logan growled down the headset dangerously.

"I'm done," Warren said.

There was annoyed growling then, "Let's go."

When I made it to the door, three guys were on me, grabbing my arm. The next second, they weren't as Warren barreled into them, pushing them off me. They toppled to the floor, and when they got up, two were going at Warren, one after me.

I dodged under his arm as he tried to get a hold of me, "Where do you think you're going, missy?" he asked, grabbing my arm successfully this time and twisting. I cried out before spinning around and kicking him where the sun certainly didn't shine. He crumpled, his face going a comical shade of red and I picked up the folders again, wishing for a bag so my arms would be free. Across the other side of the room, Logan let out a savage growl and he launched himself over the railing, grabbing the light in the center of the warehouse before swinging over to us, taking out one of the guys on Warren.

The other guy, seeing Logan's claws shouted down his walky-talky, "Call the MRD! Mutants!" before Warren knocked him out.

"Just so you know," I said to him as we ran, heading down the stairs and Logan called Storm. "I didn't need your help that time either. I had it sorted."

"Of course," Warren said mildly, shaking his head as we made it outside. In the distance we heard sirens, getting louder.

"Storm's two minutes out," Logan growled, heading for the spot where we landed. Warren was ahead of me when suddenly I was grabbed from behind, an arm wrapping around my waist and another around my neck, pulling tight. I dropped the files to yank on his arm around my neck as he cut off my windpipe.

"Freak!" he spat, his voice near my ear as I tried desperately to suck down some air, any air. His arms were lifting me off the ground, my feet trying to find a hold. And then I jerked my elbow into his solar plexus and his grip loosened enough for me to wriggle free. I rolled myself away from him as he straightened up, coming at me again. Warren was there the next second, punching him in the face and I heard a sickening crunch as he broke his nose. Blood flowed as I got up, about to deliver a blow myself when Warren kicked him in the stomach, hard enough to send him flying back into the wall of the warehouse, his head bouncing as he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," I croaked. "And - ,"

"I know," he grinned sardonically. "You didn't need my help that time either."

"Well, I didn't," I said, gathering up the files and loose papers before taking off after Logan. The ramp of the Blackbird was already lowered and we ran up it. I buckled up as Storm made it take to the sky, heading for the mansion. Handing the files to Logan, I gently probed the tender skin of my neck. It was fine.

"Uh, guys?" Warren asked.

"What?" Logan growled, his voice sounding like he really didn't want to deal with anything else.

"We have a visitor," he said. I looked to where he was look – under my chair. I leaned down and came face to face with that cat. He licked my nose which I promptly scrunched up, grossed out.

I sat back up and it seemed to take it as an invitation for it to jump up onto my lap. I placed it back on the floor. It looked at me a second before jumping back up. "What's wrong with you?" I snapped at it, placing it back on the floor again.

"I think it likes you," Kitty said, grinning and cooing at it. It jumped back up on my lap again and I sighed, giving up.

"Don't expect me to pat you," I told it. It just settled, pawing at my knee before falling asleep. "You've got to be kidding me."

"It looks half-starved," Kitty said, sympathy echoing in her voice and I clenched my jaw. Yeah, I'd noticed that and it annoyed me, but I wasn't going to look after it. My life was complicated enough already without adding a pet to the mix.

"I'll feed it before taking it to the pound," I said.

"What?" Kitty asked, outraged.

"What do you mean, what?"

"I think she means that the animal has attached itself to you," Storm said and Kitty nodded.

"You have to keep it," Kitty implored and I sighed.

"Fine," I sighed again. "But it's not sleeping on my bed. Alexis will probably like it."

"You can't keep calling it 'it'. Is it a boy or girl?" Kitty asked.

"How should I know?"

"Male," Logan said, sniffing.

"So name him," Kitty prompted. "Oh, what about Mr. Snuggles? Or Fluffy?"

I just looked at her, "Uh…" how to tell her those names suck? "I think he can be…Ace."

She looked like she thought the name wasn't anywhere near as good as 'Mr. Snuggles' and I rolled my eyes.

By the time the Blackbird landed in the Hangar, Ace was purring. I rolled my eyes, nudging him awake. He blinked at me and I started to stand up and he jumped down, following me out of the plane. I changed out of the black uniform, feeling kind of creeped out when Ace just sat and watched, so I pushed him out of the cubicle. The leather was just as difficult to pull off as it was to put on. I pulled my worn and ripped black jeans back on and my white singlet, feeling a lot more comfortable.

We headed up the elevator and as soon as the door opened, I caught an aroma of something yummy. Ace pawed at my leg, clearly smelling it too, and followed behind me as we headed for what must be the kitchen. Alexis was stirring something in a pot when she glanced up, smiling.

Her eyes looked me over and I rolled my own, "I'm just fine."

"Good," she replied, before her eyes dropped to Ace. A dopey smile lit up her face and she cooed, "Awww!"

"This…is Ace," I said. Ace looked up at me and I nodded at Alexis. "This is my sister, Alexis," I told him, feeling like an idiot, but sure Alexis would be annoyed if I didn't make the introductions. He padded over, rubbing his body against her, winding between her ankles before coming back over and doing the same to me, before sitting on my foot. "Uh…"

"Wow, he really likes you," she giggled and I frowned. This wasn't right. Usually, when animals were concerned, they liked Alexis more than they liked me; she was sweeter, kinder, more patient than me and a lot gentler, and it was fine by me because I wasn't much of an animal person, but this attention Ace was giving me made me uncomfortable. It was…weird. And I had no idea what to do. I pulled my foot out from under him and took a step back. He promptly followed, re-sitting on my foot and looking up at me with accusing eyes. Alexis laughed again.

"This isn't funny," I said, frowning at the cat.

"Is he hungry?" Alexis asked.

"I am," Warren piped up.

"It smells delicious, I'm so hungry," Kitty said, making Alexis blush at the praise.

"Good, because it's done," she smiled sweetly. "Someone needs to set the table." Kitty and Bobby bounded forward and I stepped back, out of the way, observing the whole situation, Ace on my foot again. He was an odd cat; I didn't think they were really like that, all eager for contact. But I guess, considering the condition he was in, it was no wonder he wanted attention. He was probably just as starved of human contact as he was for food.

It was odd. After a few years on the run, moving from place to place, this semi-normal, almost family-like situation was odd. Eating dinner together? Setting the table? It was…I guess I just wasn't used to it.

"Come on," I sighed at Ace. "Let's get you some food."

* * *

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	4. Alexis 2

I watched on silently as everybody stuffed their faces with my "famous" spaghetti bolognese. It was silent a moment, as everybody concentrated solely on their food. But then Kitty looked up from her bowl and smiled at me shyly, making me smile in return.

"So, Lexi," Kitty began, her expressive brown eyes focusing on me and I saw genuine interest there, along with curiosity, which made sense seeing as we were strangers, "How long have you had your powers for?" she asked.

I frowned, trying to think back to my actual age. "I've had mine since I was 15, but Ava got hers when she was 14," I answered, but also looking to my sister for confirmation. She nodded, shoveling more spaghetti into her mouth, and then shaking her foot to get Ace off of it. No use though, as he meowed and then curled up on her foot again. She rolled her eyes, a flash of silver darting around as she checked to make sure no eyes were on her before subtly trying to hand him a meatball without anyone seeing. I stifled a laugh, not letting on that I saw for fear she might stop. She frowned down at it as it licked the sauce from her fingers, and she scrunched up her nose in distaste, but her eyes were confused as she contemplated it. She didn't understand why the animal had latched itself to her, no doubt.

"So, what did you guys find on the stealth mission?" I asked, filling the easy silence that had descended on us, just as Logan walked through the door, his nostrils flaring as he spotted the pot on the stove, and grabbed himself a plate, piling it three feet high, before sitting down in a chair opposite me. I guess he had an appetite.

"Well," Warren began around a mouthful of spaghetti, "Ava found some folders on something called the 'Sentinel Project'." That rung a bell inside my head, and realization hit me.

"Wait up," I lifted my fork into the air, surprising myself with my vigor, "Senator Kelly was talking about that on the news a couple of hours ago when I was cooking. Could this be a project **against** mutants?" I asked, bringing the fork back down sheepishly and spooning some pasta and mince into my mouth.

"Probably Lex, but we can't know for certain until we can hack into the CD, we got from Kelly's office. This is really good." he answered, his voice sounding maybe a little too surprised, though impressed nonetheless, pointing to the spaghetti with his fork, and then shoveling more in.

"What do you mean, "hack into the CD"?" I frowned, my eyes unconsciously shifting towards Ava; she was usually the one who answered my questions and it was almost a reflex to turn to her when I asked one.

"Storm, Bobby and myself found a CD, which was under lock and key in the Senator's office. We put it into the computer to check what was on it, but it was protected by some sort of firewall. Forge is working on it now, but we went down to check his progress, and I don't think he was getting anywhere." Kitty answered. I stood up, picked up my plate, and walked over to the sink. I placed it down, and rested my back against the sink.

"What if I had a go at it? After all, I did hack into my father's bank account." I shrugged, like it was nothing important. This time Logan stood up and walked over to me.

"Thanks for the offer Lex, but Forge will be fine in a matter of hours. You'll see. Thanks for cooking as well."

"You're welcome. Are you absolutely sure you don't need my help, chief?" I asked, wanting to help in any way I could. Ava said that sometimes, I was too helpful, but I didn't really understand what she meant by it. I looked over at her, realizing that she hadn't said anything all dinner. She wasn't the most talkative person, I guess, but usually she would contribute to the conversation more. Even when she wasn't feeling talkative, she managed to voice a scathing jab, witty retort or sarcastic remark, sometimes more for herself, like it just slipped out, rather than the actual conversation. Under her singlet I could see her shoulders tensed, and I realized that maybe she was uncomfortable; this was a lot more family-like than we'd had in a while, a lot more open and happy, the atmosphere buzzing with easy familiarity.

"Definitely. Why don't you and the girls go to your rooms and do... Something." he suggested, looking unsure, as he probably wouldn't know what girls really did for fun or when they were alone together.

"Ok! Kitty, Rogue, Emma, Storm, Ava, my room for truth or dare in ten minutes. Get changed into your PJ's. This is going to be an interesting night!" I smirked, looking as mischievous as I could manage. If we were really going to stay, and I was hoping we were, then it was about time we girls got to know each other a little better. It'd been a while since I'd had anyone to talk with other than Ava, and while I didn't mind talking with her, it was nice to talk with girls closer to my age. I wanted to make friends, wanted them to like me, so I was excited for this game, for this quality time I was going to get to spend with them. I think I conveyed the right kind of tone I was going for because I thought I saw Logan shift uneasily out of the corner of my eye.

"Or you could train?" Logan offered, sounding like it seemed like a way better idea to him than playing Truth or Dare. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.  
He raised his hands in surrender, and stepped back a couple of steps, before heading to the fridge and pulling out a beer.

Ava groaned quietly, sighing, before getting up and bringing her plate over to the sink. I heard her mutter, "I'm going to need something stronger than this," eyeing the half-empty glass of coke in her other hand. In one quick gulp, she drank the rest of it, and when she looked up and spotted Logan, she grinned for the first time all night. "Oh, man, can I have one of those?"

I hid a grin. It wasn't really her kind of game, but she recognized the hint of determination in my voice and knew better than to try to convince me otherwise. She almost looked like she agreed with Logan's suggestion, but I knew, deep down, she wanted a friend too, someone other than her sister to talk to. She just evidently didn't know it yet. And she knew how important this was for me; she knew me so well, sometimes I wondered if she could read my thoughts.

Kitty, Bobby, Storm and Warren were sending her odd but amused looks and when she saw them she shrugged her shoulders, "What? I like beer. So sue me."

Logan eyed her warily, like he was afraid if he let her have one, she'd drink all of the on him, "What are you, like sixteen?"

Her jaw twitched and she rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed. She knew he knew she could legally drink and was irritated he was being so possessive of it, "Just so we're clear, I'm twenty two. So can I have one?"

He handed one over and she took it, heading out the door of the kitchen. She was the first to turn up at my room in her oversized shirt that was her preferred sleep ware, her beer still in hand, smiling at my own silk nightgown.

Ten minutes later we were sitting in a circle on the floor of my room in our pyjamas.

"Ok, who wants to start?" I asked, as I closed the door, and then going down to sit next to Kitty and Rogue who had left space for me.

"I will!" Kitty yelled loudly, and I grinned at her enthusiasm.

"Say it again, I dare you. Spain didn't hear you." Ava said sarcastically.

Kitty laughed before she directed her attention to Storm. "Storm. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." she replied confidently, her regal voice smooth.

"Before the mansion exploded, did you have a thing for Beast?" Kitty wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, a predatory grin on her face, causing stomach to suddenly become full of nerves. Clearly, Kitty really got into this game and showed no mercy. It made me hope she didn't choose me as a victim.

A small smile lifted her lips, her voice remaining as confident as it was before.

"Yes." she said, and we grinned. I envied her confidence and I wondered if anything really threw her. Then we waited for her to choose the next person.

"Rogue, truth or dare?" Storm asked mischievously, turning her attention to the girl, covered from head to toe in material so no one would accidentally touch her skin.

"Dare!" she yelped, before regaining her composure.

"I dare you to... Prank call Logan, pretend to be Chinese and ask if he would like to change his order!" We all sat back, laughed a little and waited for Rogue to pick up her phone, block her number and call up Logan.

"Put it on speaker!" Emma cried, a giant smile adorning her face, and I detected an English accent.

We heard it ringing, and we all tried to stop ourselves from laughing and giving it away.

"Hello?" Logan's gruff voice came out of the phone. I slapped a hand over my mouth so I wouldn't make a sound. I even saw Ava grinning, looking like she was enjoying herself.

"Hello sir, this is Chunji from Mantanajou Palace." Rogue said in a Chinese accent.

"Right?" he asked, confused.

"We've run out of flour for the dumplings, would you like to order something else?" Rogue asked.

"I didn't order any Chinese." Logan explained.

"0436817492. Is this not your number?" Rogue was trying so hard not to laugh, as were the rest of us.

"Yes it is, but look I didn't order any Chinese, so stop calling me!" he yelled. We then heard the harsh beeping of the hang-up tone. We all started laughing. Emma and Kitty on their backs, Kitty kicking her legs in the air, holding her tummy, tears flowing out of the corners of her eyes. Ava and Storm were leant up against each other, their shoulders shaking with silent laughs.

"Rogue, you're up." I laughed, wiping away a tear from my right cheek.

"Ok, Lexi. Truth or dare?" she asked me. I didn't really feel like doing a dare, so...

"Truth." I replied, less confident than I intended. She heard it and pounced on it, like she was a lioness and I was a wounded gazelle.

"Do you have a thing for Logan?" she asked. My whole body went tense, my eyes probably the size of dinner plates, while all the others with the exception of Ava looked at me with wide eyes. I looked down and blushed. "Well?" she prompted.

"Yes..." I whispered, my cheeks getting hot, the blush spreading from my cheeks over my whole face and down my neck.

"What!" I heard Ava yell quietly next to me.

"Ava honestly! It's not what you think!" I explained, turning my attention to her.

"You have a "thing" for Logan!" she yelled, as she put air quotes around "thing". This made me slightly angry, which was completely against my nature. The darker emotion felt unnatural to me and the fact that it swallowed me up so quickly surprised me, it was almost enough to make it go away.

"I know you're over-protective Ava, but I think this is going a bit far! Don't you? Logan has been nothing but nice to us, giving us a place to stay and giving us food to eat! So what if I like him! He's kind to us Ava, and I'm pretty sure he's nothing like Dad!" I think I crossed the line, for Ava glared at me slightly and stormed out of the room, Ace, following her like, well, a lost kitten.

"Excuse me." I whispered, getting up from the stunned and astonished looks the circle provided, and raced out of my bedroom door, desperately searching for my sister, looking up and down the halls.

"Maybe I can be of assistance?" Emma asked me, putting two fingers on her temples. I waited silently and patiently for Emma to find my sister.

"I'm sorry, I was unable to locate her. I don't understand." she whispered.

I frowned, confused. I'd met Emma earlier this afternoon, so I knew she was a telepath, so why couldn't she locate Ava? "It doesn't make any sense," she frowned, rubbing at her temples.

"Has that ever happened before?" I asked, trying to help, momentarily forgetting my urgency in light of a problem.

"Other telepaths can block me sometimes," she said. "Is your sister telepathic?"

"Well sometimes I wonder, because it's like she can read my mind," I joked. "But no. She's not. Her power is death. She's pretty much the symbol of death. Oh! If you can read thoughts, it's because that person's living, right? You can't read a dead person's mind because there'd be nothing to read! That must be it; Ava is the living envision of death itself and with it all surrounding her, it probably interferes with the frequency, the link between your minds," I said, grinning at myself.

"Hhhmm," Emma said, nodding as she considered this. "That would explain it. I'll have to do some tests to make sure, though. Weren't you going to find her?" She said suddenly, reminding me and I nodded, taking off in search of her.

Where would she go? I liked to think I knew her just as well as she knew me. The art room? No, she liked to paint in the privacy of her own room, rather than risk being interrupted, though it'd been a while since she'd actually painted anything. The kitchen? Who sulks in a kitchen? The Library? I saw Ace sitting at the base of the stairs, eating what seemed to look like Kibbles for Kittens. If Ace was here, then Ava couldn't be far, right? I went to the Library's big double doors, which were made out of Oak, mind you, slightly ajar, and pushed them open. I saw Ava on the windowsill reading. I couldn't see the title properly though.

"Ava? What are you doing in here?" I asked, looking around at the deserted space, nobody browsing the shelves.

"Hiding." she answered simply, not even looking up from her book.

"From who?" I asked, hoping it was Ace and not me.

"Ace," she said, looking up from her book and snapping it shut. "The bloody thing won't leave me alone!" she exclaimed. Just when she finished the sentence, a black ball of fluff raced past me to the windowsill where Ava was sitting, nestling onto her lap.

"I think he found you." I replied. She looked at me with a look that said, "No Kidding."

She sighed, before cautiously patting him on the head. "He needs a bath."

"Look, Ava…" I began, not sure where I was going with this. I lifted a hand to pat Ace's head too, though he looked like he was tolerating it only for Ava's sake. He really was attached to her.

"You're my younger sister, Alexis," She said, taking over the conversation, and getting right to what was bothering her. "It's my job to protect you. He's older than you, he's older than me. More experienced. You've never even had a boyfriend, for Christ sakes. Logan's not a boy, he's a man; he operates differently to someone like Bobby, okay? So no, I don't like the fact that you think you like him, just because he's being nice, and I don't see myself liking it anytime in the future either. I don't trust him with you. And I don't care if you hate me for that," she said, her steely grey eyes, locking on mine, boring into me.

I didn't want to fight with her, and she was stubborn as a mule, so I stood up, ending this conversation that would undoubtedly come up again. "I'm going back to my room, and I'd really like it if my sister would come with me," I said, offering her my hand. An olive branch, a peace offering. She took it. She always took, but it didn't mean she'd let what we were fighting about go.

When we returned, Storm was in the middle of clucking like a chicken, and Ava burst into laughter at the absurdity of the weather goddess clucking and flapping her bent arms around. "Alright then, Ava, it seems to be your turn," Storm challenged. "Truth or Dare?"

Ava's eyes light up and she grinned, accepting the challenge. It was impossible for her to back down from a challenge. "Oh, definitely Dare."

Storm's lips pressed together as she deliberated, "Well…" Kitty shot up and whispered something in her ear, before sitting back down, that predatory smile on her face again. I was suddenly very worried for Ava.

"Ava, I dare you to kiss Warren tomorrow after breakfast!" Storm yelped, her eyes gleamed with excitement, whereas all the others were trying hard not to laugh. Myself, you ask? I was shocked, but inside I howled with laughter. The look of pure shock on Ava's face was a big gift within a very small one.

"If you don't, you have to do something worse!" Kitty taunted, her face aligned with a grin of a Cheshire cat.

"Fine! I don't even want to know what your "worse" is!" Ava glared at all the girls who were trying so hard to hide their laughs and their smiles.

Rogue yawned and Kitty rubbed at her eyes, seeming to signal everyone else that it was time to sleep. "I think it's time I hit the hay," Rogue said, yawning again.

"That sounds good," Storm said, getting up and heading for the door. "Thank you Lexi. That was the most fun I'd had in ages."

"No problem," I grinned.

Everyone left but Ava, who crawled over to my bed, sliding under the blankets on the side of the bed closest to the door. She raised an eyebrow at me in a 'Seriously?' way. "What, you think I'm going to let you sleep here by yourself?"

"No," I said truthfully. I walked over, pulling a shirt on over my nightgown.

"What are you doing?" Ava asked suspiciously.

"I'm gonna go see if Forge and Logan have made any progress on that CD." I excused myself and walked out the door before she could stop me, heading to the elevator, and pressing one of the buttons that lead into the sub-basement. I waited a while for it to get to the level I pressed, and walked out into Forge's lab.

"Hey Chief, Forge! How's the hacking coming along?" I asked. I was met with a fierce glare from both Logan and Forge. "I take it not well?" I asked, edging closer.

"This stupid firewall!" Forge banged his head against the computer keyboard only to be met with an alarm and an, "Access Denied".

"Ok, Forge. There is leftover Spaghetti Bolognese in the fridge in the kitchen. Go heat it up and eat. Logan and I will stay down here and figure this out." I ordered. Wow. Too much time with Ava is starting to destroy the sweet me.

"Thanks Lexi." Forge smiled as he walked past me and stepped into the elevator. A ding and a couple of lights later, he was gone. I sat in the chair and had a quick look at the firewall.

I smirked and cracked my knuckles by stretching them out in front of me. I then started typing various counter-codes on the keyboard, and Logan watched as square-by-square the firewall was deactivated. After about five minutes of this, the firewall ceased to exist, and I leant back in the chair.

"Childs-Play." I whispered, as Logan looked on in fascination. "Time to see what Senator Kelly was hiding." I opened a file that said, "Sentinel Project".

It was basically all the things that Ava, Logan and Warren found. Blueprints, where to invade, what it ran off, "Mastermold"? Interesting. I clicked the back arrow and clicked on another folder called, "Mutant Registration Act".

I jumped back in surprise after reading a couple of lines.

"What?" Logan asked.

I read aloud, my voice slightly shaky, "The Mutant Registration Act enables the MRD to find and kill mutants, so that we can live a free and happy life." I stopped reading, my eyes flicking down to the rest of the document.

"Underneath it is files of all identified mutants. Logan, his daughter was a mutant." I stopped in shock.

"He killed her." I looked at him, my eyes glazed over.

* * *

Wow... BE HONEST, WHO DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!? I DIDN'T, AND I'M THE ONE WHO WROTE IT! Well, thanks to OzeraBand for reviewing a third time, it means the world to us! A giant welcome to our new-comer reviewer, but we don't know who you are! :'( Just a tiny word... THANKYOU! Wow. That has to be the longest review I have ever seen! I can tell you now that both Passion and I were flabbergasted! I was legit shaking and smiling the entire way through of reading! We're so glad you like Ava and Alexis! And to all the other people who DIDN'T review. Why? We love reviews. Reviews are like our oxygen. We don't get any, we die, and then there will be no story. Think about that. Hahaha... Evil author... Til chapter 6 my friends!

~Dancer out


	5. Ava 3

I woke to snoring.

The next second I bolted upright, wide awake, my eyes searching the darkened room because Alexis didn't snore. But then my eyes landed on Ace, his small body rising and falling, each inhale accompanied by a soft snore. I poked him in the ribs, frowning. I didn't remember letting him up on the bed. He shifted, one eye opening to look at me, before shifting and stretching his body out impossibly long. He padded up the sheet, as far up my body he could go without using his claws before gravity started pulling him back down, he pawed at my neck and I burst into laughter, ticklish, and moving his paws away. He just did the same thing again and I couldn't stop the giggles. I must be super sensitive on my neck, because I wasn't a ticklish person.

Alexis shifted next to me, sighing softly before rolling over and looking up at me, watching me try to push Ace's paws away. I quickly became exasperated with his persistence.

Alexis smiled, "He's just as stubborn as you are," she said delightedly.

I harrumphed at her; sliding out of the bed and pulling the heavy curtains open wide. Alexis shielded her eyes, groaning and pulling the covers up over her face. The rays of light were warm and comforting and I rolled my shoulders, twisting my waist. Down below was a large wooded area and I wondered if it would be okay to go there for a run.

I sighed, pushing my unruly hair back of my face, as Alexis began to peek out from under the covers, her face scrunched up. I turned back to the trees, the woods. A slight breeze lifted the leaves and branches, making them dance.

"Go," Alexis said.

I frowned at her, "What?"

She shrugged, getting up and walking over to her closet. Our belongings had been brought up from the car I left parked down the street as an escape vehicle in case things went wrong. Alexis had been sure from the beginning this would be the last stop we made, no more running, staying in one place longer than a month. I was less sure, though I certainly wanted it to be true. I don't know how she's unpacked her clothes already; my room was littered with bags and boxes covering the floor that had previously been in my car. "You want to go for a run. So go. You don't have to stay with me every second of everyday," she said absentmindedly pulling out a soft pink dress.

I frowned; she was trying to hide something from me. I knew it. I could always tell when there was something she didn't want to tell me, or when something was bothering her, and whatever this was, it was both. Something was bothering her and she was trying to hide it from me. I watched her, suspicious.

"Maybe," I said, slowly, not outright agreeing if this was what she wanted so she could keep on hiding whatever it was from me.

She shook her head, "Just go. You'll feel better," she commanded, smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. It was really troubling her.

"What's wrong?" I asked automatically.

"Nothing," she said. But the thing was, I was great at reading non-verbal cues. Roughly 60-65% of information and meaning is communicated in ways other than words. I spotted how our bodies gave us away, and it was probably why I was a fantastic liar. Emblems, illustrators, facial expressions, posture, eye contact, it all came together and I interpreted it easily, so I could pick up on deception with relative ease.

So I knew she was lying to me.

Her verbal and non-verbal channels were conflicting. She said she was fine, but her voice was slightly, almost imperceptibly higher than usual, she dropped her eyes, looking away from me and concentrating on the dress in her hands. She was a terrible liar.

"Alexis," I said, my voice going hard. I didn't like it when she tried to deceive me, even if she was no good at it. She looked up at me, her face serious.

"Let it go, Ava," she said softly.

My jaw clenched, "If there's something upsetting you –,"

"I'm fine. Seriously. Just go for a run," she said, walking into her bathroom and closing the door.

I walked over to the door and shouted through, "Okay. But only for half an hour."

"I'll be in the kitchen. I'll make pancakes!" she said, poking her head out briefly, a happy smile gracing her lips, tilting them up until her teeth were showing. "Chocolate chips, right?"

I pursed my lips together, "Yes, please."

I walked out her room, going to the next room that was mine. I nearly tripped over a box in the doorway that I didn't remember putting there. I pushed it to the side, before unzipping the suitcase with my clothes. Over the time we'd been running and hiding, we'd gather almost a whole wardrobe, mostly stuff from thrift shops and charity places; we didn't have money to waste on clothes.

I pulled on a sports bra and short, running shorts and running shoes. I stretched as I wandered down the hallway, down the stairs and out the front door. Off to the side, I could see the beginning of a trail and I headed for it. Within ten steps on the trail, the exit disappeared, and I made sure to concentrate on the trail. It wouldn't do to get lost in here.

It was slightly cooler in here, less light and warmth making it down to the ground. My feet thudded softly down the trail, my calf muscles aching already. I was so out of practice, I was already puffing, out of breath and desperate for a break. I pushed on, sucking down more oxygen and trying to take my mind off the pain by looking at the varying shades of green and brown. It didn't help.

By the time I made it back to the mansion, I was severely red in the face as I leant a hand against the weathered bricks, doubling over as I tried to breathe. My legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground, stretching out on the grass, and looking at the blue sky.

Birds flew over me and I threatened them with harm if they poo-ed on me. Luckily for them, they seemed to take me seriously, and did not crap on me.

I sat up, stretching to warm down, before pulling myself up and walking to the kitchen. Alexis stood at a hotplate, flipping a pancake with precision. When I dropped into a chair, leaning back against it and fanning my face, she brought me a glass of pineapple juice. I thanked her, gulping it down like I hadn't had anything to drink in years.

I looked up to find Kitty, Rogue, Storm and Jean there as well, all at various stages through their own pancakes, and they were looking at me meaningfully. I frowned, wondering what the hell was wrong with them.

"Uh… Morning?" I said.

"Good morning," Kitty said. "Did you go for a run?"

"Uh, yes…" I replied, confused. Where was she going with this?

"Well, that was _daring_ of you," She said. What was she going on about? Maybe she… oh. _Oh. _The dare. I'd forgotten all about it, and I'd hoped they had to. Clearly not.

"Yeah," Rogue piped up, "I wouldn't _dare_ to do that!" I rolled my eyes at their pathetic attempts of reminding me, not quite so subtly.

"Are you girls okay?" Warren asked from down the table next to Bobby and Kurt, looking between us.

"We're fine," Kitty said. "But don't you _dare_ ask - ,"

"Okay, okay, enough," I said drily. "We got it. We're all feeling very daring this morning." I knew what they were getting at, but I wasn't going to do it. It was a stupid dare anyway, and really no reason for me to complete it. They couldn't make me even if they wanted to, and the thought made me grin.

"I… don't understand girls," Bobby admitted, looking at us like we were all crazy.

"Neither do I," Warren agreed, shaking his head, before getting up and putting his plate in the sink. "Thank you for the pancakes, Lexi." He washed his hands under the faucet, before drying them and pulling at his tie. It was the first time I took in his attire; he was dressed immaculately, in a suit; white dress shirt, green tie, and brown over coat, his blonde hair neatly combed back, though bits fell over his face, near his eyes. I tried to remember yesterday, if he was always this well-dressed but I couldn't conjure up any memory of what he was wearing before the stealth outfit. It made me feel extremely under-dressed in my sweaty workout gear.

"No problem," she replied sweetly. He, Bobby and Kurt left the kitchen, taking up their conversation from before.

"Chicken," Rogue muttered.

"What was that?" I asked, jaw clenched, annoyed. I was no chicken.

"I said, aren't you glad we don't eat _chicken_ for breakfast?" She covered quickly. Oh, boy, they knew how to press my buttons on this. I looked at Alexis accusingly; she had to have told them that calling me a chicken would annoy me and only make me want to prove otherwise. I didn't back down from challenges, even stupid, immature ones like this. They were challenging me, and it niggled at me. She shrugged, but she was trying to suppress a smile in a way that made me think she had everything to do with this.

"Yes," Ororo spoke up, "I mean, _chickens_ are all clucky and not at all suitable as a breakfast meal."

"Well," I snapped, "You would know about clucky," I said, reminding her of her own dare last night, crossing my arms over my chest.

"They're just so chicken-y," Jean added, smiling.

I rolled my eyes in a huff, "Fine," I snapped. "Fine! You win!"

I ran out the kitchen, and behind me I heard chairs scraping against the tiles as they tried to get out of their chairs way too fast. Warren, Bobby and Kurt were walking slowly down the long corridor that led to the front entrance area.

"Hey you!" I shouted, barreling down the corridor.

All three of them turned as one in response to my demanding voice, but I kept my eyes locked determinedly on Warren's. He tilted his head to the side, probably trying to figure out why on earth I would be storming down the hallway at him, looking stubborn, irritated and determined.

I stopped in front of him, grabbing his tie and jerking him towards me, bringing his mouth down on mine. He was taller than me by quite a lot so I had to go up on my tippy-toes and he had to bend his neck down. For a moment, he was frozen in shock, his body tense, unsure and completely confused.

If I was going to do this, I may as well do it right.

I took charge, moving my lips against his, which were surprisingly soft, encouraging him to help me out. At first he was unresponsive, his eyes locked on mine, very confused though not un-pleased. But then I closed my eyes and ran my tongue along his bottom lip - that seemed to be all the encouragement he needed. His arms wrapped around waist, pulling me up, lifting my feet off the ground to bring me closer against him and I gripped his shoulders as leverage before wrapping my legs around his waist to make our faces the same height, bringing my chest up against his, fitting my body against his perfectly. His mouth opened, allowing me entrance, and I explored the wet cavern of his mouth, my tongue meeting his, fighting for dominance. A hand ran up my back before twisting into my hair, holding my face to his.

He certainly knew how to kiss, and his aftershave, a deliciously masculine smell invaded my nostrils, making me feel lightheaded and warm, my body heating up from the warmth of his body so close to mine and I ran my hand through the short hairs at the nape of his neck, my other hand grabbing and bunching a handful of material of his shirt, tugging roughly, attempting to pull him closer, if it was even possible. When his tongue moved forward, entering my mouth, I bit down on it slightly, warningly, before pulling back abruptly from him, ending the kiss.

The other girls were undoubtedly crowded at the kitchen doorway, watching avidly. That should have been enough to satisfy their twisted, perverted minds.

"Let me go," I said calmly, as I unwrapped my legs from his waist, though I was fighting to get my breath back and not entirely sure my legs would hold my weight. He looked at me, dazed and bemused, as he slowly, gently, placed me on the ground again, unwinding his arms. "Thanks," I said, turning back around just as Rogue, Kitty, Jean, Storm, Emma and Alexis ran back into the kitchen, trying to pretend they weren't just watching.

"You're not fooling me! And you better have more choc chip pancakes left!" I shouted at them threateningly, marching back down the hallway.

Just before I got to the kitchen, I looked back.

Warren was blinking, looking thoroughly confused and astonished, like he wasn't even sure it was real. On either side of him, Bobby and Kurt looked equally as shocked and flabbergasted as the other.

"Uh… " He trailed off, shaking his head. "What just happened?" Warren asked them, frowning. I suppressed a smile and entered the kitchen to a bunch of girls pretending to be completely uninterested in me. Rogue was pushing a destroyed bit of pancake around her plate, and Jean and Ororo were feigning conversation. I walked over to Alexis, the only person genuinely busy, and she handed me a plate of choc-chip pancakes.

"Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome," she replied, her lips desperately fighting a smile and failing.

I sat down, digging into the pancakes and sighing in contentment. Alexis made the best chocolate chip pancakes in the world, just so the bits of chocolate were all gooey, like liquid in your mouth.

"So…" Kitty began in a voice of complete disinterest.

"So what?" I asked with fake confusion. Two could play at that game.

An unstoppable smile curved her lips, "How was it?" she asked.

"How was what?" I asked, as Logan walked in the door, sniffing the pancakes and taking the offered plate of pancakes Alexis held out to him.

Kitty glared at him, looking completely put out, "Can you eat somewhere else? You're kind of interrupting something," she said, gesturing at the others who had now stopped their uninterested act and were looking as aggrieved as Kitty.

He looked up at her, giving her an odd look that pretty much said 'Fuck off'. I smiled. "I don't care what you're talking about," he said gruffly, shoving a mouthful of pancake into his mouth.

"Fine," Kitty snapped. She turned back to me, "How was Warren?" She asked in a way that made it clear she wasn't asking me about his general well-being.

Logan choked on a mouthful of pancake, clearing his throat and getting up, taking his plate with him, back out the kitchen and not looking back. "Yeah, that's what I thought!" Kitty yelled after him.

"We tried to warn yah!" Rogue called, grinning.

"So spill the beans, girl," Jean demanded.

I rolled my eyes, "It was good. But it was just a dare – you guys _made_ me do it!"

"Yeah, but you really went for it," Rogue said. I shrugged my shoulders, looking to Alexis.

"She doesn't do things half-way," Alexis said, finally sitting down and eating some herself.

"Clearly," Ororo said drily. I stood up, stretching, and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Alexis asked.

"Shower," I said, like it was obvious. "I stink."

The warm water was relaxing against my skin as it washed away all the sweat for my run. I'd have to work on that – I was severely out of shape; I couldn't even run for half an hour before needing a break! I'd have to go for runs in the mornings, early, before it got too hot, when the earth was still quiet. I got out, dried off and pulled on whatever was on top in my suitcase. My room was a mess, and I desperately wanted to organize it all, put it away, find places for my few belongings, but I put it off, deciding I'd do it tonight before I went to bed, so I'd have that settling feeling of being in control and organized as I went to sleep.

I wandered outside my bedroom, letting my feet guide me. Behind me, Ace was as quiet as a ghost. I'd have to wash him, too. The hallways were deserted and it was so quiet. The mansion was so big but there was hardly anyone inhabiting it. Without realizing it, my feet had lead me to the library. I smiled, thinking it was a good idea to hide away in there, to lose myself in another world that didn't care about my personal problems and issues. When I pushed the oak door open, I nearly jumped out of my skin, though I wouldn't admit it.

Hank was sitting at the front desk, reclined back and reading a book that he looked over the top of when I entered, "Back again," he asked. He was massive, and well, a startling shade of blue, but he had the calmest disposition I'd ever seen; it meant I wouldn't feel uncomfortable in here with his presence. There were people suited to a library environment, and then there were people who weren't. You'd think someone so big would be hard to miss, but he moved quietly around the large room, returning books to their proper places, making barely any sound that you didn't even know he was there. Occasionally, as he did his research, he'd make committal sounds, like a 'hhmmm' or 'I see', but it wasn't irritating; his voice was low and smooth enough not to be distracting.

I nodded, feeling under scrutiny, shuffling to the window bay at the back after grabbing a book I hadn't read from the shelves. I settled in, just needing to take a break. I didn't know how long I'd been sitting there, immersed in what I discovered was a James Patterson book called _I, Alex Cross_. It wasn't late enough for me to be hungry again, though. Ace sat on the ground at my feet, but suddenly he jumped up to my lap, curling himself up and looking intently at something.

That something would be Warren, heading towards me, a frown on his face. "I thought you were going somewhere," I said, gesturing at his suit.

"I was, but I couldn't concentrate," he said. "I think we need to talk."

I sighed, going back to the page I was up to, "There's nothing to talk about."

"I really think there is," he pressed.

I sighed, "Alright then, what's up?"

"You kissed me," he said. I blinked at him.

"Nothing gets past you, does it, _Angel_?" I asked sarcastically, rolling my eyes. He stiffened slightly before relaxing, an easy smirk playing around his mouth. "It was a dare. I wasn't going to do it, but they called me chicken," I shrugged.

"That's it?" he asked incredulously, "_That_ kiss was just a dare? I don't believe that."

"That it was a dare?" I frowned.

"That it was _just_ a dare," he corrected.

"Oh," I sighed disinterestedly, like he was wasting my time. "Believe it, don't believe, that's up to you. I personally don't care."

When I glanced back up, he was still there, and his blue eyes looked at me with intensity, heat, "You enjoyed that kiss just as much as I did," he said lowly, his voice somewhat rough.

"Your point being?"

One side of his mouth lifted up into a smile, like my responses were amusing to him. It was kind of irritating to be looked at like that. He shrugged his shoulders and turned around, heading for the door. "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you."

"Way to be childish," I called after him.

I tried to get back in the story, but I sighed, giving up, and deciding Ace really did need a wash if he was going to continue sitting on my lap and sleeping on my bed. Where do you even wash a pet? I'm not doing it in my bathroom, that would be just gross.

A laundry tub maybe? Now, where was the laundry? I bit my lip, wandering around, heading for a lower level. I really had no idea where I was going. I should have asked Hank while I was there. I continued walking until finally hearing the soft sound of a dryer tumbling clothes. I barged into the room.

Only to realize it was occupied. Kitty and Bobby were standing rather close, obviously having a private conversation, and when I entered they jumped, taking a step back from one another, their cheeks becoming identical shades of scarlet.

"Don't mind me," I said loftily, walking to the small tub. I unceremoniously dumped Ace into it before turning on the tub. He hissed, jumping up out of the way of the spray of water, clawing at my arm as I tried to hold him still. "Stop it!" his claws bit into my skin multiple times, drawing blood and I winced, holding him tighter as I scrubbed at his dirty fur with a bar of soap. Flea eggs, dirt and I don't know what else came away, swirling down the drain, and I scrunched up my nose in distaste. I had let that sit on my lap. Gross.

"Let's just get this over with," I cajoled, trying to bring his body under the warm water, but he was determined to get out of there. "Just let me – ow, Ace, don't – just –hold still, would you! Anyone would think – OW! Alright, that's it!" as fast as I could, I scrubbed away the dirt, rinsed him off then let go, watching as he bolted from the tub and out the laundry room. I looked down at the multitude of scratches covering my wrists and forearm.

I walked out after him, nodding at Kitty and Bobby, "Continue whatever it is you were doing." They blushed again, not looking at each other. Oh, when we next played Truth or Dare, Kitty was so going to get it. I went in search of the damn cat that was quickly becoming more trouble than he promised when he invited himself into my life.

I rounded the corner, peeking into a room only to spot Logan and Alexis having an intense discussion. Wow, I was good at this interrupting thing. I pursed my lips, wondering if I should interrupt. I didn't know if I liked how close they were standing. She was only seventeen, and he was what? mid-twenties? I couldn't approve of her liking him and clearly there was no arguing with her about it; the best way to push her towards him would be to forbid her. I wasn't her mother, I couldn't do that. But I could sure as hell have a discussion with him, especially seeing as he was either unaware of her attraction, or was aware and wasn't discouraging it. I didn't know which was worse.

The next second, Alexis turned on her heel, her eyes glazed over, tears threatening to spill over, heading for the door where I was. I backtracked, running back around the corner and hoping she wasn't heading in this direction. A minute later, I felt safe in the assumption that she wasn't. I walked back into the room, my arms folded across my chest.

"What do you want?" Logan asked, gruff.

"I want you to stay away from my sister."

"What?" he frowned, jaw clenching, clearly irritated.

"You heard me," I said. "I don't trust you with her, heck, I just plain don't trust you to be around her. I don't know you, but I do know she's better than you. She's trusting and kind and innocent, so don't you go playing with her. She doesn't need someone like you messing with her head."

"Someone like me?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Someone who could get with any girl and who knows he can. Someone who probably won't stick around in the long-run of things. Someone who has enough of his own demons for five people – and don't try telling me any different; I can see it in your eyes. You're haunted, Logan, I don't know what by, but I know I don't want Alexis getting involved. You get what I'm saying?

He didn't say anything, just crossed his arms over his chest, an irritated expression written in every plane and line of his face.

I turned and walked out, calling over my shoulder, "You've been warned."

Now, where did that damn cat go?

* * *

**Well, we hope you enjoyed this chapter, especially Warren and Ava's kiss! I certainly enjoyed writing it!**

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	6. Alexis 3

Tears slid down my face, as my fingers flew effortlessly over the piano's keys. It was a sad and haunting melody, the kind you play when you find out that someone had murdered his daughter all because she had a gift. A mutation.

I tried to push down the overwhelming sickness roiling in my gut at the thought of someone taking another person's life. How could someone do that to another person, how could someone inflict that kind pain? How could someone have so much hate in them, to drive them to murder? I took a deep breath in, trying to let it go, push the physical illness away. Ava always said I'd make myself sick if I dwelled on that kind of thing for too long, so I tried to think of something else.

The music started to lift into a slight happier tune, as I remembered Ava doing her dare. Warren's face afterwards was priceless. I felt the corners of my mouth tug up into a smile. I finished the daunting song, and stood up from the piano, took the sheet music with me, folded it, and placed it in the strap of my dress.

"Storm!" I cried, as I saw her walk down the hall. She turned around, startled, but smiled warmly when she saw it was me.

"Hello Lexi, how can I help you?" she asked, her strong African accent coming through.

"I have a favour to ask." I replied. She lowered her head, and raised her eyebrows, which indicated to me that she was would listen to what I had to say. "With all the running around my sister and I did, I never really got to stop and get an education. I was wondering if you would teach me? I mean, Ava tried, and she told me stories about the wars and stuff, but it was hard for her to do that while on the run and be constantly looking over our shoulders. If it's not too much trouble for you," I proposed. After all this, 'Mutants Are Bad and Dangerous!' stuff goes out of date, I'd need a job to support myself financially.

"Of course Lexi! We can start tomorrow morning. By the way, Logan is looking for you." she agreed, as she pointed in the direction of Logan's office. I smiled, expertly hiding the shaking terror I felt inside of myself. Even after everything, Logan and I had went through together, like the time when we first arrived at the mansion, Ava killing Scott, and then the sharp "zing" of his claws as they came out in between his knuckles, I had never been so afraid for Ava in my entire life. Then that time in the kitchen, when I was still newly recovered, when Bobby said something, and I strained a muscle in my neck, he was over by my side in an instant, pressing his long fingers into the side of my neck. That time when he asked if I would cook for the entire mansion. The time when I cracked the firewall on that CD, and the time when I left him standing there as I walked away crying, because of what that murderer did to his own flesh and blood. One day, he will get what he deserved. After all that, I was still nervous around him.

I walked to the door of Logan's office and knocked three times.

"Enter," his gruff voice came through the door. With my hands shaking, I put my hand on the door handle, turned it, and pushed the door open.

"Storm said you wanted to see me?" I asked.

"Well, two things actually. Are you ok? You seemed to run off quite fast before." Fiddlestick fudge nuggets, he saw that? I sure hope he didn't see my cry. I was supposed to be independent. Moving here to the X-Mansion was supposed to be a new start. A new Lexi. I sighed.

"I'm alright Logan, I just didn't think that Kelly would do something like that to his own flesh and blood." I replied quietly, as I looked down at my feet. "It makes me sick."

He nodded at my pathetic explanation, continuing on. I got the sense he wasn't one to talk about feelings much. "Another thing. I don't know what's going on here, but Ava seems to think something is going on between us. She told me to stay away from you. She said something was haunting me." Logan explained, looking extremely uncomfortable. I looked up from the ground toward him.

"Ava isn't the only one who's realised Logan. I may not be very good at those sorts of things, but even I can see that your past was troublesome. You don't have quite a living aura, as the others do." I pointed out, but then I realised to the full extent of what he said. "My sister thinks what?" I asked, just to make sure that I heard correctly, my voice hedging up slowly, higher than usual. "She said what to you?"

"Your sister, she thinks something is happening between us. You need to talk to her, convince her that nothing is happening. Sorry for pulling you into this Lexi, but she needs to know that you're safe around me. Nothing will or ever happen between us, that she needs to know." At the last sentence, my heart broke. He only saw me as a teammate, a friend. I bit my lip, trying to make the physical pain override the emotional.

"Sure Logan." I replied, as I took a few steps backwards. I had to get out of here, away from him. Heat and embarrassment were creeping over my neck, making me feel like a stupid kid.I smiled, and then pushed his office door open, quite forcefully, and started making my way to the kitchen. I needed ice-cream.

I made it to the kitchen in record speed. I walked into the kitchen, barely noticing anyone was there, and walked to the freezer, to get some strawberry flavoured goodness. It was my favourite flavor. Ava was more of a chocolate girl (though she did enjoy the occasional boysenberry flavoured one) – she had a serious sweet tooth and you could never leave her alone with your chocolate when we were younger. I turned around, and nearly jumped out of my skin, because Warren was sitting right there.

"I thought _Angel_s were supposed to make a little noise before sneaking up on someone, you know, so they don't kill someone by giving them heart-failure!" I pressed a hand to my chest, in a desperate attempt to get my heart to slow down.

"Sorry Lexi, I've been a little out of it," he replied, his voice distant as he frowned, like he was replying automatically, words falling from his mouth as a default setting.

"What's up Warren? You're not usually like this." I figured, spooning some strawberry ice-cream (which was hidden right at the back of the freezer, behind a bag of peas. If I hadn't found it earlier when I was searching through it while I made dinner, I would never have known it was there. Someone had gone to great lengths to make sure no one ate it on them,) into my mouth, reveling in the sweetness.

"It's Ava." He said almost reluctantly, though her name alone explained everything. I think I knew where he was going with this, but I waited for him to get there himself. "I'm just so confused about that kiss," he shook his head, like the movement would suddenly make everything clear to him. " she said that it was just a dare, but she liked it, I know she did," He explained, as he looked to me for some sort of help. "She was…very enthusiastic…" I shoveled more ice-cream, into my mouth, and let it melt against my tongue, buying time.

"She was dared to do it, but the thing is with Ava and dares, she never does things half way, she has to put 150% into it. That's just the way she is. She doesn't avoid things, and plus, we kind of pushed her to it. Called her a chicken. She hates people thinking she's weak, because she's small; it's a real chip on her shoulder. So she won't ever back down, if only to prove someone wrong. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go talk to her about something completely unrelated to this topic." I explained, patting him gently on the shoulder. I stood up,about to pick the container of ice-cream up, when Logan came racing into the kitchen.

"Warren, Lexi, suit up. We have a mission." he ordered, he nearly walked out the door, when I called after him.

"Logan!" he popped his head around the corner. "I don't go on missions, remember?" I reminded him.

"Tonight's different. We need some more information on the sentinel project, and for that we need a hacker. Suit up." He then pushed himself down the corridor, to the elevator that went down into the basement. This is going to be interesting.

"Ava's not going to like this," I murmured to myself.

I headed out, towards the hangar, and just as I rounded the corner, I spotted Ava walking out of the library, a book in her hand and sending Ace an incredulous look as he padded along behind her. She rolled her eyes at him, and then looked up, spotting me.

"Alexis," she said, walking towards me. "What are you doing?"

"Going on a mission."

And wait for the explosion, everybody. Three. Two. One. "You're what?!" she asked, her eyes widening. "Like hell you are."

I sighed. Sometimes I wondered if she knew I was old enough to make my own decisions. She didn't have to look after me all the time. But I supposed old habits died hard, and watching over me was a serious habit of hers. "Ava," I said firmly, calmly, "I'm going. Logan said he needed a hacker – and I'm it."

"Oh, Logan said that did he? Well, I need to talk to him about that," she snapped irritated and charging off towards the hangar. She threw me a look over her shoulder as she walked quickly, her short legs eating up the distance quickly, "You should know, I'm coming with you."

"I figured," I muttered, before realizing what she said. "Hang on, I need to talk to you about that!"

"About what?"

"About talking to Logan about me – there's nothing going on between us. He's not interested in me. And I want you to mind your own business, because every time you get a crazy notion in your head, like me and Logan, you go off on a bender and it usually ends up with me being embarrassed," I told her passionately, trying to get her to see the trouble she caused me.

She stopped walking and turned to look at me, her silvery eyes dead serious, "Alexis…this is what I mean. You won't ever see it, but I do, so just let me do what I do best; protecting you."

I sighed. There was just no reasoning with her. We continued down to the hangar, to where we went to get changed, and as soon as Ava spotted Logan, she went up to him and punched him in the arm. Hard.

"Ava!" I gasped.

"What was that for?" he growled at her.

"That was for needing Alexis on a mission." Then she punched him again, "But that was for attempting to take her and not tell me. Jackass."

"Ava! Are you crazy?" I shouted, and Warren came around from the changing rooms, his stealth gear on.

"No, it's okay Lex," Logan said, holding a hand up to me when I went to try to drag Ava away from him in case she punched him again. Then he turned his intimidating eyes onto Ava. She didn't back down from him though, her face livid. Ace hissed at him in warning at her feet, his fur standing up. "Punch me again, and you'll regret it."

"Oh really?" she snapped. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"The Wolverine," he said as she took a step forward, invading his space.

"Well I've got news for you; that means nothing to me!" she shouted. "_I'm_ her legal guardian, so that means you have to _tell me_ if you're planning on taking her anywhere, particularly into potentially dangerous situations! Otherwise, that's called kidnapping, get it?"

"I think she can decide for herself," he snapped back.

"Maybe you're not hearing me – I'm her guardian, if anything happens to her, it's my fault!" She raised her fist again, needing to vent, to get it out of her system, because she was so angry. But under that anger, I felt tinges of guilt and panic and fear. She hid how worried about me she was behind that façade of strength.

But I wasn't so sure Logan would just take her hit again. This time, he might fight back, and I wasn't sure how well she'd do against him. I didn't want them to fight, I couldn't stand it when people fought, but I wasn't close enough to stop her.

Warren was though. His arms circled around her waist easily, looping around and lifting her up, her back against his chest, and spinning her around, away from Logan in less than a second, just before her fist struck out. "Hey!" she shouted, surprised, before struggling to get out of his arms. She turned and glared at him when he let go.

"Do that again," she said, deadly calm, "and I'll floor you."

It hit me then, just how dangerous Ava could be. How serious she was about all this. If she wasn't my sister, I'd be afraid of her.

They stared at each other a second. "Do you honestly think we'd let anything happen to her?" he asked her, eyes unwavering. It suddenly felt like a very personal moment, and I shifted, uncomfortable with intruding on it.

"I don't trust anyone else with the job. So it doesn't matter if you think you wouldn't let anything happen to her; the truth is, you'll never be able to protect her the way I can," she said lowly, her eyes stuck on his too.

"You're putting a lot of stock on your skills as a fighter. From what I've seen, you're good, but you're not _that_ good. Logan has more experience then you," he pointed out.

"It's not my skills I'm putting stock on; it's what I'm willing to do. Think of this; if it came down to a choice between her life or yours, can you seriously say you'd choose hers? Self-preservation is one of our base instincts. Me, on the other hand. There's no choice. Do you get it now?"

He didn't say anything and she broke their eye contact, moving to grab her uniform. "In case you didn't catch on, I'm coming with you,' she told Logan. He nodded once. "And if you ever pull this again," she gestured around, "then _you'll_ regret it."

After a second, I grabbed a spare uniform and went to change as well, mulling her words over. I knew she was willing to protect me one stop short of constant supervision, but I never knew how _far_ she was willing to protect me, to the point of giving her own life. It was pretty serious stuff, but she seemed to be overlooking one main point; as if I'd let her give her own life for me!

How dare she be so selfish.

I took a deep breath. But it would never come to such drastic measures, so I pushed those thoughts away.

Logan, Warren, Ava and I headed out to the Blackbird. I seriously wanted to learn how to fly that thing. I looked over at Ava, knowing she hated flying, to see Ace following behind her. I hadn't even noticed he was there; I didn't think anyone had. But then Logan sniffed and looked over at him, frowning, causing Ava to also then look behind her. She sighed, rolling her eyes, "Oh, come on! Give it a break!"

I laughed, and it seemed to break the tension, "It's funny because you're not even an animal person."

She turned around, facing the cat and looking him in the eye. She held up her hand, "_Stay_."

"He's not a dog," Warren said.

"Brilliant observation – if we ever need anyone to point out the obvious again, you'll be our go-to guy," she rolled her eyes. "He's smart. He'll understand."

And surprisingly, he did. Ace sat down, and watched as we walked to the aircraft. Ava walked aboard easily and without hesitation, and I shook my head. My sister was the person I most admired; she hid her fears so well, she was so confident.

I sat up front so I could see the controls and out the window, and Ava sat behind me, Warren next to her. I watched Logan flip some switches, before moving a gearstick, and then the plane was taking off.

Behind me, I heard Warren say, "Ava…about that kiss…"

She sighed, "Not this again."

I pressed my lips together to stop a grin. Ava was a heartbreaker; without meaning to, she got guys hooked on her, but she never had any emotional investment in return. Warren got suckered in too, and the thought made my smile slip; Warren was a nice guy, and I'd hate to see Ava break his heart. Though, I thought he would be good for her; she was too cynical, too suspicious, too jaded. She didn't believe in love. And he probably did.

Warren let out a self-deprecating laugh, his voice rueful, "I've never met anyone like you."

"Look," Ava said, and I sighed. Here comes the crusher, about to burst his bubble and smash any possibility of something between them. "You're hot, seriously, a blind person could see that. But it wouldn't work out between us, so I think you should move on."

"Wow, way to let a guy down easy," he said sarcastically, though his voice wasn't harsh or mean. It was like he found her amusing, like he could see the humour in the situation. "You think I'm hot?"

Maybe there was hope for him after all.

I could just sense her eye roll. "You want the truth?" He must have nodded, because she continued on after a momentary pause. "I think you're extremely hot. If we met in a bar, in some alternate universe, I'd sleep with you easily." Woah, woah, woah, _that_, I did not need to hear! In no universe did I want to know about my sister's sex life. Where's the off switch for my ears? "And you could get any girl you wanted."

"Except you, apparently."

"Except me," she confirmed.

There was a moment of silence. Then, "There's a ball coming up for the charity my father's a sponsor for. It's just another opportunity for rich people to dress up and show off to each other under the guise of charity. I have to go to it. Go with me."

"Did you not just hear anything I said? You can't ask me out on a date - ,"

"It's not a date. Just as friends."

"You should ask Storm. Or Emma."

I turned around in my seat, "Just go with him, Ava, for goodness sakes!"

She looked at me wide-eyed, "How long have you been listening? It's rude to listen to other people's conversations."

"It was hard not to hear," I said, embarrassed.

"Trust me, if I could un-hear all of that, I would," Logan muttered beside me.

She sighed, "Fine. I'll go with you. But you should know in advance that I hate dressing up."

"You can wear a burlap sack if it means you'll go with me," he grinned widely.

She rolled her eyes, "You're a fool."

When we landed, any vestiges of amusement disappeared as everyone got serious.

I unbuckled my seat belt, and watched as Ava and Warren were already at the ramp. I took a deep breathe. What if I failed? What if I couldn't hack into the computer?

"You ok Lex?" I heard Logan's gruff voice behind me.

"What if I stuff up Logan? I shouldn't be here." I stated, as I turned to look him in the eyes. He laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and came closer to my body.

"If you don't belong here, then I definitely don't. All I can do is extract metal claws from my body and heal. You can bring someone back to life. Lex, you're worth more of me, then I am to myself. Just close your eyes," I closed my eyes, "take a deep breathe," I took a breathe, "and jump into the unknown." My eyes snapped open.

I was ready.

* * *

Wow, I completely forgot about the author's note! My bad *sheepish grin* I just got back from my little sister's talent show :') so proud :D

Passion has a few things up her sleeve for the next chapter, but it won't be out for a while sorry! But don't worry, we haven't died... :D


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